Bobsledder Steven Holcomb wins bronze in 4-man event for U.S.

SOCHI, Russia — Bobsledder Steven Holcomb of Park City, Utah, held off Russia-2 on Sunday to win his second bronze medal of the Sochi Games.

After breaking a 62-year American medal drought in the two-man sled, Holcomb finished third at the Sanki Sliding Center in the four-man competition. He and crew Curt Tomasevicz of Shelby, Neb., Steve Langton of Melrose, Mass., and Chris Fogt of Alpine, Utah, finished .03 of a second ahead of Russian driver Alexander Kasjanov.

Alexander Zubov swept the bobsled competition after winning the four-man Sunday, .09 of a second ahead of silver medalist Latvia.

Holcomb became the first American bobsled pilot to win three Olympic medals.

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“When we came out of corner 15 I could see the board and saw green, so I knew we were ahead,” Holcomb said. “I thought, ‘don’t mess up, don’t mess up.’ But I didn’t see the clock when we crossed the finish line, so it wasn’t until we were at the finish dock that I knew we had it.”

Zubov gave Russia its 33rd medal, 13th gold. Both are tops for the Sochi Games. The United States finished second in the overall medal count with 28 medallions, including nine gold.

“We came back to win, but the Russians are fast,” said Holcomb, who won the four-man gold medal in Vancouver. “I made too many mistakes and my injury kind of held me back, but I’m happy to walk away with a medal.”

Holcomb suffered a calf muscle strain during the two-man competition a week ago.

Russia sweeps 50-km mass start

Alexander Legkov made sure the Russian flag finally flew highest at the Sochi cross-country skiing venue — and for these entire Olympic Games.

On the last day of the games, Legkov led a Russian medal sweep in the men’s 50-kilometer race to give the host nation its first cross-country gold at the Sochi Games. It also clinched top spot in the overall medals table for Russia.

Legkov won a four-way sprint to the finish at the end of the freestyle mass-start race Sunday, pulling away from teammates Maxim Vylegzhanin and Ilia Chernousov on the final straight. On a perfect final day for the hosts, Vylegzhanin was second after beating Chernousov in a photo finish, 0.7 seconds behind Legkov.